Bus Stop Blues
by CinderellaAtTheBall
Summary: A brief, chance meeting in a bus shelter makes Lily Evans realize that sometimes, things happen for a reason. Muggle!AU.


_Warning: implied homophobia on the part of an unseen character._

_Prompts and author's note to follow._

* * *

**Bus Stop Blues**

_1:11 PM_

Lily glanced at her watch. The bus wasn't due for another twenty minutes or so, but the rain had forced her to end her shopping expedition early and take refuge in the tiny bus shelter she was currently standing under.

It hadn't rained like this in a long time. Years, probably. Lily watched as raindrops splattered violently against the pavement, against the cars on the street, against the very shelter she huddled under. Focusing on the raindrops brought her a certain sense of peace, however. It kept her from thinking too much about the man she was sharing the covered space with.

This man looked to be in his late teens, just like her, but his brown hair was already greying. His face was pale, too. He had a slight figure, or at least it seemed that way because of the way his dark t-shirt and khaki pants hung from his body. He was dressed a bit like one of Lily's university professors, actually, and it was this alone that kept her from thinking he was some sort of degenerate who might take advantage of their proximity and harm her.

Well, that, and the fact that he seemed to be crying.

...

_1:16 PM_

There was no doubt in Lily's mind now; the man was _definitely_ crying. He had progressed to sniffling every once in a while, and he kept shuffling his feet as though he hoped the noise might cover up the sounds of his misery.

Lily kept her eyes glued to her mobile, pretending not to notice his distress. She felt awkward about it, but there was no way she was going to leave, not with her precious shopping and carefully straightened hair. No, she was staying, and the man would just have to continue to cry quietly. Lily only hoped no one else came along to disturb their tenuous status quo.

...

_1:19 PM_

The man received a message on his mobile that seemed to make him even more upset. Lily thought she heard him mutter "tosser" before he dropped the device back in his pocket and resumed his sniffling - and shuffling - with renewed vigor.

She had been sneaking glances over at him for the last few minutes, but now she let her gaze linger a bit longer. He looked awful, with tears falling down his face at a rate that rivaled that of the raindrops outside. He didn't seem to notice Lily watching him. He didn't seem to notice the rain either. He didn't seem to notice anything at all.

...

_1:22 PM_

Lilly tapped her foot and checked her watch again. She only had to wait about ten more minutes for the bus, but the man's crying had increased in volume, and she wasn't sure she could ignore it anymore. Finally, when his head was in his hands and his sobs began to rack his entire body, she decided enough was enough. She couldn't let this poor man suffer alone.

She gripped her shopping bags tightly and took a tentative step towards him. Then another. He was too preoccupied with his sadness to notice. Finally, still with a distance of about three feet between them in case he tried any funny business, she spoke.

"Excuse me. Are you...okay?"

He lifted his head and stared at her, saying nothing. Now that she was closer, Lily could see that his eyes were a brilliant shade of blue. He looked older than she had initially thought, too, with lines creasing his face and an overall sense of exhaustion emanating from him.

"Dumb question," she said, laughing nervously. Curse her ever-present desire to help people. "Of course you're not okay. Do you-do you want to talk about it?"

The man shook his head, then turned away to scrub at his face.

"That's fair," Lily said. "I mean, you don't know me, I don't know you, but I just thought...I just thought maybe you could use a friend."

Ignoring everything she had ever been taught about approaching strangers, she stuck out her hand. "I'm Lily."

"Remus," he said, and nodded rather than moving to shake her hand. His voice was quiet, and he sounded as though he wasn't used to speaking much.

"Remus," she repeated. "It's nice to meet you."

Silence fell between them, but it wasn't so uncomfortable for Lily now that Remus wasn't crying anymore. She wasn't sure if her introduction had shocked him into pulling himself together or not, but she felt a small sense of pride nonetheless.

...

_1:26 PM_

"You're right," Remus said suddenly. "I could use a friend. I..."

Lily opened her mouth to prompt him to continue, then decided against it. It wasn't her place to make him talk if he didn't want to.

"My dad kicked me out this morning," he mumbled after a moment. Lily almost didn't hear him over the sound of raindrops hitting the roof.

"What? Why?"

"He, ah..." Remus trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes met Lily's briefly before moving down to stare at the ground. "He found out about my boyfriend."

"Oh, you're-I mean, I see. I'm sorry. That must be really...rough." Inwardly, she was kicking herself for sounding so stupid. It wasn't as though she hadn't met gay people before.

If Remus thought she sounded lame or insensitive, he didn't let on.

"It's alright. Well, it's not _alright,_ but I'm kind of used to being an outcast, and my dad has always been a bit...overbearing."

"If it's any consolation, my dad's kind of the same way," Lily said, wrapping her arms around herself despite the bags she held. "How long have you and your boyfriend been together?"

"Sirius - my boyfriend - and I have only been dating for about a year, but we've known each other for longer than that; we went to school together. I've been away at uni, so it was easy to hide our relationship, but now that I'm home for the summer…"

Lily's heart ached for him. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to hide such a big part of her life, to keep something that made her happy tucked away like a shameful secret.

"I suppose there's a silver lining in all of this, though," Remus continued.

"Yeah?"

"Sirius lives on his own, because his family is even worse than my dad," he explained. "Maybe we'll be able to move in together."

He didn't sound so sure about this, but Lily nodded anyway.

"Yes, maybe you will," she said earnestly before silence consumed them once more, and the rain acted as a soundtrack to their thoughts.

...

_1:28 PM_

Remus' mobile buzzed, once, and his face drained of any remaining color.

"Oh, God," he moaned. "What if that's my dad again? Lily, what do I _do_?"

Lily started and ran through several options in her head, finally settling on one that didn't involve breaking the device or running away.

"Erm, I guess I could take a look at it? That way if it's bad I could, uh, break it to you slowly?"

He all but thrust the phone into her hands.

"Yes, please. Thank you. God, I...I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here."

Lily peered anxiously down at the screen, hoping against hope that she wouldn't have to inform Remus of an angry tirade. She soon breathed a sigh of relief, however.

"Remus," she giggled, "it's from Sirius. It says, and I quote, 'I love you, you idiot.'"

Remus lunged for his mobile, blushing furiously.

"God, what a romantic," he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

...

_1:29 PM_

Lily watched Remus' fingers fly across the keyboard of his mobile, no doubt texting his boyfriend back. A smile played at the corners of his mouth, and she couldn't help but notice how different he looked now that he wasn't crying. He looked younger, softer.

Suddenly, his eyes met hers and a grin spread across his entire face.

"Thanks again," he said shyly. He nodded down at the hand that held his phone. "I was worried about telling Siri what had happened, but he's been really supportive, and he's on board with me moving in with him."

Lily grinned back. "That's great, Remus!" Despite only knowing him for a few minutes, she gave him a quick hug, and was pleased that he didn't seem entirely freaked out.

"Thanks," he muttered. "I'm glad I met you, Lily."

"I'm glad I met you too," she whispered back. She checked the time once more and made a quick decision. In her purse, she found a piece a pen and a piece of paper. She wrote down her phone number and handed it to Remus. "In case you ever need to talk."

He inclined his head and slipped the paper into his pocket. He didn't thank her, but his eyes conveyed the extent of his gratitude.

...

_1:32 PM_

The rain had slowed to a drizzle by the time the bus came. Lily approached it, then looked back at Remus.

"Is this your bus too?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, no, it's not," he replied. "I just ducked under here to get out of the rain. Little did I know I would make a new friend in the process."

"Lucky, that," Lily said with a smirk. Sobering, she looked him straight in the eye. "You know, I think you're going to be okay."

She quickly climbed onto the bus and selected a seat on the side nearest the shelter. She pressed her face up against the glass and waved at Remus, then watched him grow smaller and smaller as the bus pulled away.

She hoped he would keep in touch.

* * *

Word count: 1,623

**Rubik's Cube Challenge: **green (dialogue): "I love you, you idiot."

**Fortnightly Challenges:** MUA - Thirsty: drizzle

**Paint by Numbers: **purple (action): crying

**Yearly Challenges:**

**Insane Prompt Challenge #789 (scenario): **We're the only ones in this tiny bus shelter and you've been crying for 10 minutes and I would give you some privacy but it's pouring rain out so, "Do you want to talk about it," I guess?

**365 Words: **284\. degenerate

_A/N: cross-posted to AO3 under the username 'sophh.'_


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